Just about issues affecting the well being of the family - emotionally, physically, socially, psychologically religiously and financially. These issues could be positive or negative, however they remain for information purposes only and could be on the news or from anywhere on the planet.

Campaigning Irish priest Fr Shay Cullen warns that the Philippines is becoming the number one destination for Irish paedophiles who prey on the country's estimated 60,000 children caught up in the sex industry.

And he warns that what happens on the faraway streets of a Philippine shanty town will eventually impact on small-town Ireland.

"The abusers do not leave their habits and desires at the airport. These paedophiles come to whet their appetite, have their fill and return with their desires to molest children greater than ever," he says.

The sordid 'industry' in the Philippines involves everything from child slavery to children as young as 10 being sold as sex slaves.

Fr Cullen, who was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize, has been fighting the Philippine authorities for 40 years to stamp out the business. Now, after much success, he finds himself confronting Irish sex tourists on a regular basis.

"There are sex tourists from Ireland, we don't know how many - but they are here - we bump into them from time to time. You have lots of paedophiles who hide out here: Irish guys, German, Swedish."

According to the priest, the South-east Asian tsunami wiped out hundreds of sex resorts. The sex tourists are now flocking to the Philippines, which was spared.

Angeles City, which is two hours' drive from Manila, is the home of the Philippines sex industry. Thousands of sex tourists from all over the world, including Ireland, visit the place every week in search of cheap sex.

According to Fr Cullen, many of the tourists go in search of children younger than 12, of which there is a plentiful supply.

"Fourteen-year-old girls living with 70-year-old foreign men as sex comfort girls is so common that the government officials wonder what all the fuss is about," Father Cullen says.

Juan Miguel Petit, the Commission's Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography reported that the flourishing of child prostitution and trafficking of children are the great problems in Ukraine.

According to UNO press-service, 10% of victims of human trafficking are children at the age of 13- 18. The half of these children is sent in neighboring countries, especially in Russia.

¡§The children in ¡§across-the-border¡¨ sale are exploited in street trade, in house service, in farming, as dancers, waiters or waitresses, or even in sexual service. More particularly they become dancers, beggars or they give sexual service,¡¨ the report gives.

The report says that in many cases children become objects of trafficking inside the country. Dealers on children trafficking decoy their victims in debt bondage. They make children to work off the costs of traveling, meals and dwelling. The possibility to tear away from this debt bondage is happened very seldom.

The Commission's Special Rapporteur said that nobody helps these victims either abroad, or after their returning.

Juan Miguel Petit said that Ukrainian child prostitution has increased for recent years. According to the research of Ukrainian Institute of Social Investigation, there are 11% of children at the age of 12-15 and 20% of children at the age of 16-17 among women who are engaged in sexual service. Petit pointed out that there are even 10 years old girls who are involved in prostitution.

The UNO chairman worries about the way the procurers, trafficking dealers and producers of pornography use children. He learned from mass media and different booklets for tourists that there are many announcements about weddings and meetings which are not controlled. He emphasized that with visa free entrance for majority of west countries Ukraine is turning into an open country for sex-tourism. The Commission's Special Rapporteur apprehends that there are many juveniles, exploited in this spreading activity.

Petit said that Ukraine needs to form a new model of children protection; otherwise this problem will pass into the next generation. He formulated a line of recommendations on this point.

During the October visit in our country Petit said that Ukraine need to create a new model of children rights protection. The UNO chairman calls law enforcement agencies of Ukraine to control marriage agencies and closed night clubs, where child prostitution and trafficking of children flourish. He also doubts about frontier rules, which regulate the departure of nonaged minors abroad.

One of the worst examples of this destructive intervention in family life is the sex education system that has been imposed on [British] schools. Not very long ago the Daily Telegraph ran a whole-page story headlined, 'Outrage over explicit sex lessons.'

Education correspondent John Clare described parents' anger at 12-year-old children being given explicit sex lessons. In these lessons they were taught sodomy, oral sex with reference to "blow jobs" and mutual masturbation.

Now another government-funded agency, the Brook Advisory Centres, has launched a "Schools Sex Manual", subtitled "Nice Girls have Sex". There is also a full colour booklet (no expense spared when it comes to taxpayers' money) for 13-year-olds called "The Good Grope Guide". Is it any wonder that underage sex, childhood pregnancy and child abortion continue to increase under this British government?

Brock Chisholm, the Canadian doctor who became Director-General of the World Health Organisation, decreed that children should be freed from national, religious and other cultural prejudices inflicted on them by their parents. He advocated that classroom sex education should be introduced, "eliminating the ways of the elders by force if necessary."

Some feel that tt is high time parents hit back and insisted on knowing what is being taught their children in secret and behind their backs. And believe such a move would give children back their innocence.

Yet as recent media reports have indicated, the British government's failure to educate - and parent's embarrassment to discuss sex - have been further contributing to the problems face by youth.

Beijing Government is reported to be introducing the controls to deter people from playing for longer than three consecutive hours.

The measures are designed to combat addiction to online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft and Lineage II.

Consequently Internet game operators have been ordered to install anti-addiction software on their games to help youngsters stay offline.

The government yesterday issued a regulation, which takes effect on April 15, demanding online operators set up a "game fatigue system" that encourages players under 18 to play less than 3 hours a day.

Online gamers will also be required to register using real names and identity card numbers to indicate if they are younger than 18.

Experts said the move reflects government fears over the social impact of popular online games, which have been blamed for the rising numbers of school children playing truant or even committing crimes.

Under the system, known as the "anti-online game addiction system", the first 3 hours of play for each day is considered "healthy", during which players will be awarded full points in the virtual world. The next 2 hours will yield only half the normal points and there will be no points after 5 hours.

After the 5-hour limit, players will be subjected every 15 minutes to the warning: "You have entered unhealthy game time, please go offline immediately to rest. If you do not, your health will be damaged and your points will be cut to zero."

All the online games run in China, including the Massive Multi-player Online Role Player Games (MMORPG) operated by NASDAQ-listed companies such as Shanda, NetEase and The9 and other games like those run by Tencent, will have to abide by the rule.

According to the regulators' timetable, online game operators will have up to four months to install the system; and games not embedded with the software by July 16 will be shut down.

Zhao Yurun, a spokesman for The9 that runs World of Warcraft in China, said yesterday the system will not have a great impact on the company since a majority of its players are adults.

Other companies, including Shanda and NetEase, also said the impact will be limited.

Last year, there were 31.12 million online game players in China. Of them, about 10 percent were below 18, said Kou Xiaowei, deputy director of the audio-visual and Internet publication department of the General Administration of Press and Publication, one of the eight government departments that released the regulation.

Although online game operators do not regard the system as a drain on revenue, experts said it was the real-name registration policy that may pose a real threat to game operators.

"The system requires every online player to register with their real identity. This will scare away many adult and young users," said Liu Bin, chief analyst at research house BDA China.

Official statistics show that the number of Internet users in China reached 123 million in mid-2006. About 15 percent - or 18 million - were under the age of 18.

Octogenarian lecher Nobuhiro Nakamura's arrest resulted from events that would be leaving him feeling a bit stiff, but had he been a tad stiffer he'd be in even bigger trouble than he already is, according to Shukan Gendai.

Nakamura, 81, has become one of the oldest people in Japan to be arrested for breaking the Child Prostitution Law after he allegedly made repeated payments for sex from a 14-year-old girl young enough to be his grandchild's daughter.

Nakamura has apparently admitted to the charges against him, telling the police he met the girl -- a runaway who can't be named -- at a Sapporo supermarket in January last year. After a few months of buying her meals and paying for entertainment, Nakamura finally allegedly lured the girl into a love hotel, where they continued regular trysts from May last year until March, when police picked up the runaway off the streets and were astonished to find she was carrying hundreds of thousands of yen that the octogenarian had given her.

But the old man's efforts at luring the young girl into his clutches proved to be something of a flop -- in more ways than one.

"The girl told us that, perhaps because of his age, Nakamura wasn't able to get an erection and never penetrated her. Instead, she spent each session licking his entire body. She said she recommended he try Viagra and stuff, but Nakamura wouldn't do it, saying he'd be all right," a police insider tells Shukan Gendai.

Another officer adds: "It's true Nakamura never penetrated the girl. But the law also forbids simulated intercourse. He deviously tricked the girl into going to a love hotel with him and we figured that was good enough to arrest him."

As surprising as Nakamura's age is his standing in the community. The 81-year-old is a former top reporter with the Hokkaido Shimbun, the northern island prefecture's premier local newspaper. He was also involved in his local residents' association.

"He was the first head of the residents' association of our apartment block. He worked for a newspaper at the time, so we figured he'd be smart and that was exactly how it turned out. He got lots done and everybody relied on him," a resident of the Sapporo apartment building where Nakamura and his wife lived tells Shukan Gendai.

Nakamura is also a fluent English speaker. He gave English lessons to old folks at a local community center and also organized trips overseas for the elderly. But Nakamura also had another face that some people occasionally glimpsed.

"He was an old codger who never stopped blabbering on, especially to women, who he never failed to try and talk to when the chance arose," another neighbor says.

Nakamura was also well known at the supermarket where he met the young girl he is accused of abusing.

"He offered to buy me meals, but I turned him down. A store worker who saw it said, 'Ah, that old fogey is coming around trying to pick up the young girls again,'" a young girl who hangs out at the supermarket tells the weekly.

Nakamura's elderly wife says she is too ill to comment on the case, even though her husband has been running around after young girls. Police aren't so refrained.

"I guess his desire to chat to young people just escalated into something different, but the fact is that we've got Hokkaido's oldest ever child prostitution arrest on our hands," a police officer tells Shukan Gendai. "Nakamura is apologetic. But, at his age, it's a bit hard to tell him something like 'It's about time you got your life in order.'"

Culture minister, others assail plan to assist AIDS hospice by auctioning prints of famous people posing in the buff

The abbot of a Lop Buri temple that serves as an AIDS hospice said yesterday he would refuse any proceeds from a controversial auction of nude celebrity photos planned by an entertainment magazine.

Abbot Prah Alongkut made a brief statement, saying he was informed only that morning that Fame magazine wanted to raise funds to support the temple's work by taking bids for centrefold photos of some leading actresses and that he was disturbed by the damaging publicity that the charity project had generated.

However, it was not certain what kind of further controversy the abbot's rejection would create, as it is against Buddhist principles to turn down donations.

Penpak Sirikul, one of the models, insisted that her intentions were well-meant. "I don't have any hidden agenda."

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"People are born naked," she said. "This is the art of women's beauty."

She also lashed out at critics of the project, asking them what they have done for the cause. She defended the project, saying this was the quickest way to raise money and get it to AIDS victims.

She dismissed suggestions that posing in the buff would set an example for the younger generation to emulate, saying they can think for themselves.

"Not all people are stupid."

The undertaking brought some 30 models and celebrities to take nude pictures to be featured at the Fame Erotica exhibition open to the public from April 5-9 at CentralWorld.

The one-metre-square nude pictures are scheduled to be put up for bidding to raise funds for AIDS patients at Lop Buri's Phrabath Namphu Temple and Nonthaburi's Bamraj Naradoon Hospital.

It's not known if the Nonthaburi hospital would feel the same way about the project as the temple.

Culture Minister Khunying Khaisri Sri-aroon called the project inappropriate, as some photos and poses were provocative. She urged the celebrities to use their fame in other merit-making methods.

Khaisri said she understood the models' and celebrities' wishes to act for a charitable cause, raising money for AIDS patients, but the approach of taking nude pictures - some reportedly struck suggestive poses as in pin-up calendars - was not proper.

The celebrities already had the public glued to their every move, she said, and should find another way to raise funds.

Prisana Pongtadsirikul, secretary-general of the National Culture Commission, said that being charity-minded was good but their deeds should also be responsible to the whole society. She said the ministry had been trying to promote polite and traditional Thai-style clothing ahead of the Thai New Year festival, so she would prefer these public figures to set good examples for youths nationwide.

She said that they should have chosen other fund-raising activities and asked why the celebrities did not take photos with their clothes on or wear Thai clothing instead. She also suspected that this move might be driven by commercial interests or was a PR stunt for the participants to gain more publicity.

Ladda Tangsupachai, director of the Culture Watch Centre, said she understood the good intentions of the organiser and celebrities but they might lack cultural understanding that merit-making money should be earned from decent methods and sources. She also expressed concern that the affair might confuse young people who have been criticised for wearing revealing clothes.

Ladda also said that the case was discussed at a meeting of the committee for safe and constructive media, which was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham, and committee members just shook their heads in disagreement with such a "benefit".

Former senator Rabiebrat Pongpanit, president of the Happy Family Association, slammed the models and celebrities for resorting to taking their clothes off for a good cause, which would create a bad example for Thai youths.

Rabiebrat said that she felt hurt that the famous people used charity as an excuse to stoop to this behaviour. She said they should have done something else.

"The monks [at Phrabath Namphu Temple] must feel uncomfortable to accept donated money from this, but being Buddhist monks taught not to be choosy in merit-taking, he would have to take it. This charity project is not a good example. They don't seem to think things through," she said while urging the Culture Ministry to act upon it.

Venerable Phramaha Samai Jintakosako from the Saeng Thian Foundation said that, while helping AIDS patients was great merit, taking nude pictures was inappropriate and against Thai culture and tradition. He said this even put Phrabath Namphu Temple in a negative light because the money came from an activity against good tradition and thus was "ungraceful" and a bad example. He urged the project participants not to jeopardise the good image of Buddhist monks who devoted themselves to caring for AIDS patients. He expressed concern that if this could not be stopped, someone might produce nude VCDs to raise funds for charity in the future.

The story of up and coming south Indian actress Preethi Varma seems like a horror tale.

The Chennai police has filed a case against the parents of actress for allegedly trying to push their daughter into flesh trade.

Preethi presented herself before the Egmore Principal Sessions Court in Chennai on March 28 after suddenly disappearing for over a month.

The young actress, who had accused her parents of making attempts to force her into prostitution, had told the court that she would not go back to her parents, as she wanted to lead an independent life.

She said that she was forced to leave the house. And because she was unable to put up with her parents' intimidating tactics, she had sought the legal action against them for trying to force her into prostitution.

The police had registered cases against the actor's parents - Ramya and Bharath Kumar - who were expected to be arrested soon.

TWELVE years ago, Princess Wallace's husband Junior left Jamaica for the Canadian farm work programme, armed with just one suitcase, and big dreams to buy a house to make his family comfortable in Portmore.

Two years after leaving, they had a two-bedroom, and today their five bedroom home is complete. So is their family.When Junior left, both Chelsea and Nicholas were in primary school, today another child has been added to the family, and the older two are in the stages of completing high school and college. The only shadow forming over their perfect family, is the fact that their father doesn't live at home.

Nicholas, now 23, and in his final year at university, tells all woman that as a child he had all the things he wanted, and was the envy of the neighbourhood.

"I had a Nintendo, and when PlayStation came in I had the PlayStation, I had bicycles, scooters, anything I wanted, we were never short of anything," he said. "My mother was both mother and father. You should see her mix cement and change the washer in a pipe, she could do anything."

In fact, as Wallace explains, her husband's leaving caused her to become a Jane-of-all-trades, and she soon learnt not only to cook and clean, but to make shelves, paint, do plumbing, electrical work and fix the car when it broke down.

And the companionship: "I had my children, so I never thought about what I was missing. Junior was home for a few days at least once every six months, so I had him then. At other times I just prayed that he'd be safe there, and I was busy raising the children, so I never thought much about what I was missing out on."It's another spin to the long-distance relationship, these marriage across the world romances, where the bonds are tested by the distance between the couples.

According to Ministry of Labour information, approximately 6,000 Jamaican farm workers went to Canada in 2006, the largest number since the inception of the programme some 40 years ago, and more could go this year. Many who go are married men, who leave behind their families in search of a better life overseas. Others leave on other programmes, through legal and illegal means, ultimately in search of something that's missing at home.Nowadays, women are joining in the mass exit, leaving their men behind.

Shakeira Brown is leaving Jamaica at the end of this month, destined for Florida on a programme for nurses that will see her employed at one of the hospitals there. She's leaving her husband and five-year-old daughter behind, but believes that the money she will earn in the US will make up for her absence.

"My husband tried and tried but with his job as a cook and mine as a nurse here, we didn't even have enough money most times to pay our rent," she said. "My friend told me about this programme and I applied, now I'm leaving and he fully supports me."

There have been tales of relationships that failed because one partner lives abroad, there are also some people who feel that being married while one partner lives abroad is no marriage at all. But, as our next interviewee admitted, with the right amount of effort and interest on both parts, a long distance marriage can survive the obstacles - as long as you both refresh your memories of why you chose to do it and trust each other.

Kevin Brown has been married for eight years, five of which he spent living in Jamaica with his wife in England. It started, he said, as a mutual understanding where himself, his wife, and their two children would leave for England.However, things didn't go as planned and so they decided she should go on ahead and he would join her as soon as the paperwork was sorted out. Then came the introduction of the visa to travel to England, and after two attempts to acquire one, he and the children were turned down.

It has been far from easy for Brown, but nonetheless, after five years apart with not one visit, he still thinks of her as his wife."At times you think on both sides of the situation. I think about it from her side as well as mine. But we still do stuff together. I don't make any form of investment unless she is involved. So even though she is not physically here, I still consider what we have a marriage," he said.

"We have to remember too that it is not only about us, but about the kids too. Kids make a lot of difference in a marriage."He added: "Sometimes I sit and just reflect on the good times we had together and that helps to give me comfort. To tell the truth, sometimes I think she might be cheating but sometimes I don't think so."

Infidelity is one of the main concerns in long distance marriages, an issue that's bound to surface the longer the couple stay apart.For Wallace: "I know he probably has a woman up there but I don't let that bother me. I'd drive myself crazy with that. But I know that he's a man, and that he has needs, especially, as Jamaicans say, when the cold bite you. We never talk about it. I just don't want to know."

Brown has kept himself celibate, but admits that it's hard, and he does feel attracted to other women sometimes.He tries to be as open with his wife as possible."I always told her if she really need to cheat, use a condom and don't have a child for someone else. I wouldn't be able to deal with that, just as much as I know I would never put her through that trauma. If your partner cheats, you can forgive them and move on. But if a child is involved it's harder."

Regarding contact: "We speak every single day. Because I mean its not like she said she was leaving and not coming back or anything like that."Brown explained that up to a year and a half after she left, he could hardly survive and missed her much more than he thought he would.

"For a year and a half, I couldn't keep a steady job. I changed four jobs within that period of time, none of which lasted beyond six months. I used to always call and ask her if she wasn't coming home. But she would remind me that it is for the best."In fact, this January they were able to purchase a house together and seven months ago, his wife surprised him by buying him a vehicle. He admits to missing her and looks forward to her coming home before the year ends.

You need trust and communication

Sheri and Bob Stritof, authors of The Everything Great Marriage Book say that being apart "makes a marriage even more challenging".

In an article How to maintain a long distance marriage they say:1. The key, as it is in all relationships, is communication. Keep the lines of communication open on a daily basis.2. Being committed to one another and truly believing that your spouse belives in the marriage commitment is vital.3. A long distance marriage will fail if there is a lack of trust between the partners.4. Although you are apart from one another, make time for one another. You can do this by sending a letter, an email, writing in a journal, day dreaming about your spouse, or having an ICQ or chat conversation.5. Share your expectations about being apart from one another. Also share your expectations when you are close to being together again.6. Be honest about your concerns and fears about your separation.7. Try to do daily dialogue with each other.8. Keep a daily journal.9. Give one another a scented pillow case or shirt to help keep your presence with them.10. Plan a trip or some fun activity (other than sex) to do when the two of you are back together.11. Use online communication to send emails, electronic cards, pictures, music, poems, and stories.12. Camcorders can be great for being able to see one another or your children.13. Play online games together.14. Surprise each other once in a while with a phone call. Send care packages to each other now and then.

They also advise that couples do not immediately assume that their partner will cheat because of the physical separation. "Most long distance marriages do not have to deal with this heartache because of the love and commitment the spouses feel for one another," they say. "What you need is commitment, communication, a sense of humour, trust and discipline."

She is the woman who will take care of your little bundle when you're unable to, the second mommy your baby will have throughout his/her formative years. With that in mind, you have to ensure not only that she loves children, but that she can handle emergencies and do simple things like help stimulate your child.

That's why choosing a sitter/nanny for your little one can be a mind-boggling experience and one that should be handled with great care. You have to bear in mind that children are not able to express themselves clearly to let you know how they are being treated while you are out. The onus is therefore on you to get a trustworthy person in your home to care for your child.

Childcare experts on healthsafety_baby-sitters.html say, "A good rule of thumb is the younger the children being watched, the older the babysitter should be." And babycentre.co.uk advises that you don't compromise when carrying out this important search. "Your child deserves the best caregiver you can find - so be prepared for a long search," the childcare site says. "You'll need to be patient and resourceful, consulting everyone from friends and family to the nanny agencies about possible candidates."

Locally, agencies like the Jamaica Household Workers Association and the Citizens Advice Bureau can help.The JHWA provides trained workers for your home, who come properly screened and with references.

Executive director of the Citizens Advice Bureau, Pauline Harper, says people come in to the Bureau from time to time as trained practical nurses but who are willing to be placed as nannies while those without training come armed with years of experience as well as recommendations.

She explained though, that the end result is left up to the parents to interview the individuals and find out whether or not they are able to take care of the child.

"I presently see the need for sitters to be trained in the field of childcare before they take on the task of baby-sitting," Harper said. "But you also have students leaving the secondary schools who are trained in childcare and qualified as sitters."When choosing a sitter, here are some tips you can follow:

*The recommendations of people you know and trust are your best bet for finding a reliable and capable babysitter.* If you're new to the area and don't know how to go about finding a sitter, ask your neighbours or co-workers for recommendations, inquire at your church, or talk to your child's doctor or nurse practitioner for suggestions.

There are in fact agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, Ministry of Labour, JHWA and even some employment agencies that will help you find qualified sitters.* Interviewing prospective sitters and checking their references will help you narrow down your sitter choices.* Sitters should provide references that indicate a proven track record for showing good common sense, maturity and following instructions.

* Sitters should have first aid training and know how to manoeuver a choking child and have knowledge of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a combination of rescue breathing, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compression).

* Make sure the sitter knows where your first aid kit is located.* In addition, you may want to invite the sitter over for a dry run while you're at home, so you can familiarise him or her with your household and observe how he or she interacts with your child.

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